Revolutionary New Syngenta Module Helps Growers Manage Resistance

Mon, 2008-05-19 17:35

With the number of glyphosate-resistant weeds on the rise, Syngenta has created the Resistance Fighter™ Resistance Management Module, a unique tool to help growers manage resistance by offering herbicide solutions tailored to corn and soybean fields.

The interactive solutions module allows growers to input attributes unique to their farm and management style, generating a herbicide program designed to fit their needs. Each solution is customized by crop, weed, county, state, preferred management methods and history of resistance.

The Resistance Fighter Resistance Management Module offers growers customized solutions for weed control including resistant weeds. It is currently available on the Syngenta resistance management Web site, resistancefighter.com.

“I stood side-by-side with a North Carolina grower looking at a field overrun with glyphosate-resistant weeds,” said Chuck Foresman, manager of weed resistance strategies for Syngenta. “He said that pigweed isn’t his number one problem; it’s his number one, two and three problems. It was at the point where he was determining whether or not that property could be used for farming. Growers are looking for answers, and this module provides a step in the right direction. It’s a valuable resource for both growers and retailers.”

Emphasized by the recent confirmation of both glyphosate-resistant giant ragweed and Palmer amaranth in Tennessee, glyphosate resistance remains a real and growing threat. Each new species brings an additional challenge to management programs.

“Unfortunately, there is a mindset by some that chemical companies are going to develop a new herbicide mode of action to alleviate glyphosate resistance before it becomes a bigger problem. If we found a new mode of action today it would take a minimum of ten years to get a product to market,” said Foresman. “That ‘silver bullet’ isn’t coming anytime in the near future. We need to be looking at the herbicide programs available today and other cultural options, and make the best use of those tools. That’s where this module can help.”

For more information on the Syngenta Resistance Fighter Resistance Management Module and management options, visit resistancefighter.com.

Syngenta is a world-leading agribusiness committed to sustainable agriculture through innovative research and technology. The company is a leader in crop protection, and ranks third in the high-value commercial seeds market. Sales in 2007 were approximately $9.2 billion. Syngenta employs over 21,000 people in more than 90 countries. Syngenta is listed on the Swiss stock exchange (SYNN) and in New York (SYT). Further information is available at www.syngenta.com.